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Halladay on mound vs. Rangers

Apr 20, 2009 - 5:31 PM Texas (5-7) at Toronto (10-4), 7:05 p.m. EDT

TORONTO (AP) -- The Toronto Blue Jays haven't made the playoffs since 1993 despite having one of baseball's best pitchers over the last decade in Roy Halladay.

In 2009, the Blue Jays look like they're finally catching up to their ace.

Halladay and the Jays look to continue their strong start as they open a three-game home series against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.

Toronto (10-4) has been mostly mediocre since winning its second consecutive World Series title in 1993, but that's not because of Halladay. The right-hander leads the majors with 116 wins since the start of the 2002 season.

Halladay (3-0, 3.00 ERA) has continued to deliver in 2009, going seven innings in winning each of his first three starts. He held Minnesota to one run while striking out eight in a 9-2 road victory Thursday.

"He's not firing on all cylinders yet, but that's still better than most guys," catcher Rod Barajas said.

So far, the 2009 Blue Jays have been better than most teams. They've won their first four series in jumping out to their best start since opening 11-4 in 2001, and are the only club in the AL with more than eight victories.

"I'm always a positive person. Anything's possible," manager Cito Gaston told the team's official Web site after a 1-0 win over Oakland on Sunday. "Hey, you know, if you're going to come out here and play, you might as well win. I don't think anything but win, so I'm not surprised at all."

Gaston, who guided the Blue Jays to their only AL pennants and World Series championships and took over the team again in the middle of last season, hopes his club can continue its hot start in its first meeting with Texas, which has had some success against Halladay.

Toronto's ace is 7-6 with a 5.34 ERA - his highest against any team he's faced more than four times - in 19 games versus the Rangers. He was 1-1 with a 2.50 ERA in two starts against Texas last season.

The Rangers (5-7) avoided a three-game sweep with a dramatic win over Kansas City on Sunday. They rallied from a two-run, eighth-inning deficit and Michael Young capped the comeback with a leadoff home run in the ninth inning to give Texas the 6-5 victory.

The Rangers had lost seven of eight and dropped the first two games of the series by a combined 14-3.

"We needed it," Young said of the win. "Fortunately we got some breaks there in the eighth and tied it up. Hopefully we can get some momentum out of this win and take it on the road."

The Rangers lost their first three games against the Blue Jays in 2008 before winning four of the last five to earn a split of the season series.

They'll give the ball to Brandon McCarthy (1-0, 4.91) on Tuesday. The right-hander gave up three runs in six innings of Texas' 7-5, 10-inning loss to Baltimore last Tuesday.

McCarthy is 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA in six games - three starts - versus the Blue Jays, and 0-2 with a 5.14 ERA against them in Toronto.

Rangers designated hitter Hank Blalock is 11-for-33 with two homers, two doubles and nine strikeouts against Halladay.